BABY FACTS

Newborns

Babies are born with 300 bones, but by adult we have only 206 in our bodies. The reason? Some bones fuse together later.
Children born in the month of May are on the average 200 grams heavier at birth than children born in any other month.
A newborn baby's head accounts for about one-quarter of it's entire weight.
According to researchers at the University of Texas, babies like pretty faces better than plain ones.
A fetus in the womb can hear. Tests have shown that fetuses respond to various sounds just as vigorously as they respond to pressures and internal sensations.
First Year of your Baby

The average child will eat 15 pounds of cereal in a year.
Diaper rash occurs more often after 8 months of age.
Baby oil and baby lotion lubricate the skin equally well.
Aside from medical costs, it's been determined that new parents in the U.S. typically spend $7,000 in a baby's first year on everything from diapers to formula to day care.
Moms

Some tribes of people, like the Assam in Africa, don't call themselves families. They call themselves "maharis", or "motherhoods."
In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed the orders that made Mother's Day a national holiday.
George Washington once said, "My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her."
Native American Indian women have long been honored with the name, "Life of the Nation" for their gift of motherhood to the tribes.
Chinese family names are often formed (begin) with a sign that means "mother". It's a nice way of honoring their moms long past.
Miscellaneous

Did you know that every three seconds a baby is born?
A Swiss study found that a majority of women unconsciously choose mates with a body odor that differs from their own natural scents, which, as a result, ensures better immune protection for their children. "Longevity" magazine reported that the genes that battle disease-provoking substances also influence body odor.
The average stay in a hospital to give birth was 4.1 days in 1970. It was 2.6 days in 1993.
The largest number of children born to one woman is recorded at 69.
From 1725-1765 a Russian peasant woman gave birth to 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets.
According to a survey, women prefer blue bedrooms more than other colors; men are happier with white bedrooms.
Sweden has the lowest birth rate in the world, 1 in 100. Malawi, in Africa, has the highest, 5.3 in 100.
The first child ever born on the continent of Antarctica was born in 1978.

Baby Facts
Babies are born with very poor vision but can recognize their mothers almost right away.
Babies are born before the skulls of the head are complete joined together.
Babies are born with a swimming reflex and can naturally hold there breath. But they short lose this instinct.
Babies are always born with blue eyes, within a few moments of delivery their eye color can change.
Newborns usually double their weight by six months.
By the end of the first year, a newborn normally will triple their weight.
Playing classical music, especially Mozart, will increase their intelligence.
Reading to your child (at ANY age) will increase their knowledge.
Babies can communicate physically before they can verbally. Subliminally, parents teach their babies some gestures like 'bye' waves, hugs, pointing and so forth. Research shows that children and infants who use sign language show stronger lingual development.
Puzzles are not only fun, but they promote your child's development in a variety of ways.

* Babies are born with very poor vision but can recognize their mothers almost right away.

* Babies are always born with blue eyes, within a few moments of delivery their eye color can change.

* Babies are born with swimming abilities and can naturally hold their breath. However, they shortly lose this instinct.

* Newborns usually double their weight by six months.

* Playing classical music will increase a babyâ€™s intelligence.

* Reading to your child at ANY age will increase their knowledge.

* Babies and toddlers are, pound for pound, stronger than oxen. This is especially true of their legs.

* Babies are born without kneecaps.

The human body is a fascinating study to subject. You may be surprised by the following facts.

* Women blink twice as many times as men do.

* Eyes are the most active muscles in the whole body.

* There are about 550 hairs in the eyebrow.

* The life span of a tastebud is 10 days.

* Humans have almost 10,000 taste buds.

* The colder the room you sleep in, the more likely that you will have a bad dream.

* The human body is better suited for two four-hour sleep cycles than one eight-hour one.

* The jawbone is the hardest bone in the human body.

* Itâ€™s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

* You share your birthday with at least 9 million other people in the world.... talk about a lot of celebrating.

Baby Formula Tips

Feeding your baby is a special time for you to bond with your baby as well as provide nourishment for your growing infant. Following are some tips on preparing and feeding your baby formula.

Baby formula comes in three different forms: powder, concentrated and ready to feed.

Powdered baby formula is sold as a dry powder and must be mixed with water before your baby can eat it.
Concentrated baby formula is a liquid but must be diluted with water before being consumed. Follow the mixing directions that come on the bottle or can.
Ready-to-eat formula is sold as a liquid and is ready for you baby to enjoy!
With all of these types of formula, you must choose the right ones that work for your lifestyle and convenience. Please follow all mixing instructions for the type of formula you choose and be sure not to use the formula past its expiration date.

Regardless of the type of formula you choose, your baby will most likely enjoy WARM formula. One way to warm your baby’s bottle is to heat it in a pot of water on the stove. Be careful not to overheat and boil the formula. A common way of testing that the right temperature has been reached is to sprinkle a few drops on your wrist. The drops should not be cold and should feel just slightly warmer than your own body temperature. Use of a microwave for heating baby formula is not reccomended since it can heat unevenly and become VERY hot.

Burping your baby
After your baby has been fed, often they need to be burped to relieve any air they might have swallowed during the feeding. The burping procedure is simple; take a burp cloth and drape it over your shoulder and hold your baby in your arms so his/her cheek rests on the cloth. Then gently pat or rub your baby’s back for a few minutes until they burp up the air (and often a bit of formula with it!!)

Use this page to help stimulate baby shower ideas to plan your next baby shower. If you have any other suggestions for baby shower tips or baby shower games, feel free to email us!

Baby Shower Tips
Consider having disposable cameras available for guests to use to capture memories for the guest of honor. One camera for every five guests is a good rule of thumb.
Surprise baby showers are often more memorable and more exciting for the expecting mother. If at all possible, try to keep the baby shower a secret until the last minute. You can employ the help of her husband to make sure she keeps the set date free.
How long should a baby shower be? A typical shower would be a minum of two hours to give guests time to visit with each other. Showers could go as long as three to four hours, so you may want to consider starting the baby shower early on the appointed day!
Baby Shower Games
Diaper in the Dark: The host of the shower blindfolds one of the guests and times them to see how fast they can change a diaper. All you need is a baby doll, several diapers (or one cloth diaper with pins) and a blindfold or bandana. The guest to change the diaper the fastest is the winner, and gets a prize!
Testimonial from Baby Names Now member: My guests LOVED it, and it was hilarious to see how quickly the diaper was changed, but how awkward the baby's diaper looked!!!!

Baby Pictures Game: Have each guest bring a baby picture of herself to the baby shower. Number and arrange all the pictures on a large board and let each guest try to match the photos with person. The winner is the person who makes the most correct matches.

Baby Food Games: Buy a variety of baby foods including some strange ones (like strained beets with oatmeal!) and take the lables off the jars. Let each guest have a taste and try to guess what kind of baby food it is. The person who guesses the most correctly is the winner. To make things more challenging, have people guess the brand of the baby food as well!

The Price is Right!: Buy ten or twelve baby items such as baby toys, jars of baby food, diaper wipes, a pacifier, a package of diapers or a box of diaper pins. Write the exact cost of each item on a slip of paper and let each person guess what the items cost. The person who guesses the closest will recieve the slip of paper with the actual cost. The person at the end with the most slips of paper is the winner!

Mother's Circumference: Get a skein of yarn and pass it around to each guest with a pair of scissors. Have each person estimate how much yarn it will take to fit around mother-to-be's tummy at the navel. The expenctant mother then has to try on each piece of yarn and the person who guessed closest wins!

Baby Pins in a Bottle: Fill a baby bottle with diaper pins and have each person try to guess how many are in the bottle. The closest guess wins a prize!